Gone to pot, and now ready to climb the grape vine

Even though Uruguay has become the fourth-largest winemaking country in South America behind Chile, Argentina and Brazil and ranks among the top 10 wine consuming countries in the world, its presence in China is negligible.

With the country's beautiful beaches, the vineyards have become a tourist draw for Westerners, who can also marvel at the country's vast ranches and the hundreds of thousands of cattle and sheep which, apparently, outnumber humans five to one.

The country's vinicultural claim to fame is its tannat grape, which produces wines characterized by elegant, soft tannins, and the industry that produces those wines has a century-old tradition rooted in immigrants from Europe, mainly of Basque and Italian origin.

Present at Bodega Garzon's opening were the cream of South American society, who could not have been other than impressed with the gorgeous setting, the spanking new winemaking facilities and, of course, the premium wines produced in them.

There are 5.24 square kilometers of vineyards divided into more than 1,150 individual blocks, following the vineyard's topography with its distinctive terroir of varying altitudes and exposures.

In the property's north stands an elegant granite-based concrete building of 7,000 square meters, which visually blends in with the vineyard and houses, the wine-making facilities, storage and a restaurant and a club. The glue that holds all that together, apart from the superb scenery, is modern architecture such as transparent glass walls from ceiling to floor with plush, stylish fittings and furniture.

The man behind it all is the internationally renowned wine consultant Alberto Antonin, who has been involved with the project since 2008.

Antonin, who has worked with some of the most prestigious wine companies in Australia, Europe and Latin American, enthuses about the geological and climatic aspects of the area that shape the character of its wines.

These include the granite soil that has a special structure and composition that is good for natural drainage, the rolling hills and the exposure they provide, the biodiversity and the fact that the vineyard is just 18 kilometers from the ocean, bringing cool and clean breezes, he says.